DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's tennis team defeated Colby-Sawyer 5-4 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Forside Fitness and Tennis center in Falmouth, Maine.

The Bison (16-1) fell behind early, dropping two of the three doubles matches. The duo pair of junior Danielle Mandel and freshman Kara Stankewitz picked up the only win in doubles play for Nichols with an 8-4 win over Alexa Conlin and Hilary Boucher.

The Chargers (12-7) picked up there four wins at the No. 1 and two doubles, as well as the No. 1 and four singles spots. After falling behind 4-3 during singles play the Chargers only needed one point to clinch the match and move to the second round. However, the Bison had other plans. Junior Megan Nathanson tied the match at four points a piece after picking up a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Anna Kopituk at the No. 2 singles, before sophomore Juliana Herrera clinched the match for the Bison with a 6-4, 6-3 win at the No. 3 singles over opponent Maddy Gemerek.

"Very happy with the way our ladies competed today." Said Nichols head coach Paul Brower "We shook off the 2-1 deficit after doubles with some really strong singles play. Danielle Mandel had a big day for us winning both of her matches handily and Meg Nathanson had a solid showing at 2."

The Bison have now won the past three NCAA First Round matches and will take on the host school and the seventh ranked team in the nation Bowdoin College in a second round match Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

"The big star of the day certainly goes to Juliana Hererra." Said Brower "Her match was filled with tough points and she was alone on the court knowing that the match was tied 4 all for most of the second set. She deserves a ton of credit for her effort and composure in such a tough spot."